KNOU
| City of license | St. Louis, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater St. Louis |
| Branding | NOW 96.3 |
| Slogan | All the Hits |
| Frequency |
96.3 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) 96.3-2 FM Classical "RAF STL" 96.3-3 FM Smooth jazz "Hip 96.3" |
| Translator(s) | 107.3 K297BI (St. Louis, relays HD2, owned by Radio Arts Foundation) |
| First air date | December 11, 1959 (as KADI at 96.5) |
| Format | CHR (Top 40) |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 313 meters |
| Class | C1 |
| Facility ID | 27022 |
| Callsign meaning | Alternate form of "NOW", the station's current format |
| Former callsigns |
KADI (1959-1987) KRJY (1987-1994) KIHT (1994-2015) |
| Former frequencies | 96.5 MHz (1959-1975) |
| Owner | Emmis Communications |
| Webcast |
Listen Live Listen Live (HD2) |
| Website |
now963.com rafstl.org (HD2) |
KNOU (96.3 MHz) is an FM radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, branded as "NOW 96-3". Owned by Emmis Communications, the station's studios are located in the Powerhouse building at St. Louis Union Stations, while the transmitter is located in Shrewsbury.
KNOU has two HD channels. 96.3-HD2 airs a classical music format operated by the non-profit Radio Arts Foundation branded as "RAF STL" (relayed on FM translator K297BI 107.3 FM), while 96.3-HD3 airs a smooth jazz format as "Hip 96.3".
History
The 96.5 frequency originally went on the air on December 11, 1959 as KADI under the ownership of William Cady, making it one of the first commercial FM radio stations in the St. Louis area. KADI spent most of the 1960s on and off the air in the early turbulent days of FM radio. By the early '70s, the station was sold to Richard J. Miller, who would put a Progressive Rock station on the air. In the mid-'70s, KADI moved down one notch on the dial to 96.3 MHz to allow new station KSCF (now known as KFTK) in Florissant to go on the air at 97.1 MHz.
In 1987, the station's call letters were changed to KRJY, and the station switched to a Soft Adult Contemporary format as "K-Joy 96" (later J96), and in late 1991, the station switched to '50s/'60s oldies as "Jukebox 96."
In 1993, the station was sold by R.J. Miller to Heritage Broadcasting, who then owned WIL-FM/WRTH-AM, and on St. Patrick's Day of 1994, the station adopted the KIHT call letters and "K-HITS 96" identity, flipping to a "Greatest Hits of the '70s" format, which would evolve into classic hits over the next few years. Heritage's St. Louis properties were sold to Sinclair Broadcasting in the mid-'90s, and Sinclair sold the station to current owner Emmis Communications in 2000.
In 2014, while keeping a Classic Hits direction, KIHT added more music from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, in an Adult Hits-type format to compete against WARH.
On January 30, 2015, at 5 AM, KIHT flipped to CHR, branded as "NOW 96-3." On February 5, 2015, KIHT changed their call letters to KNOU.
External links
- Official NOW 96.3 website
- RAF - Radio Arts Foundation of St. Louis official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KNOU
- Radio-Locator information on KNOU
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for KNOU
- Query the FCC's FM station database for K297BI
- Radio-Locator information on K297BI
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